Increased margin from updated
internals and catalyst
A low cost hydrocracker revamp delivered extra value to a refinery by
increasing diesel yield, cycle length and safety
Fawzi Al-Somali Saudi Aramco Shell Refinery Co.
Edwin Maas Shell Global Solutions International B.V.
Theo Visser Criterion Catalysts & Technologies
D
espite the important role that reactor
internals play, many refineries continue to
use conventional or bubble-cap distribu-
tion trays in their hydrocrackers. In doing so,
they may be failing to capture the maximum
value from their units. For example, the latest
generation reactor internals may enable the use
of a higher selectivity catalyst to produce higher
volumes of valuable middle distillates; this could
be worth $3.5 million per year for a 200 t/h unit
(based on a $14/bbl naphthadiesel spread).
The benefits for some refiners, such as SASREF,
a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Royal
Dutch Shell, have been even greater.
Saudi Aramco Shell Refinery (SASREF) is one
of the worlds largest and most technologically
advanced refineries. It has a complex configura-
tion that includes a hydrocracker, a visbreaker,
a thermal gas oil unit and an aromatics section.
This enables it to generate a high value
product slate that includes diesel, kerosene,
liquefied petroleum gas and naphtha, which it
uses as a chemical feedstock and gasoline
component.
The SASREF hydrocracker was initially
designed to have a 6000 t/d capacity. Before the
revamp, this had increased to 7500 t/d, which
made it one of the largest such units in the
world. When it was built in 1982, the hydroc-
racker was configured for maximum naphtha
but, by 2012, the momentum in global dieselisa-
tion meant that middle distillates, not naphtha,
was now the highest value product stream. So,
keen to maintain its position as one of the
worlds most competitive refineries, SASREF
took bold, decisive action.
www.digitalrefining.com/article/1001273
The refiners objectives were to retune the unit
to maximise middle distillates and, to further
enhance its profitability, increase the units
capacity and cycle length. However, it was
crucial that any changes were implemented effi-
ciently and in one turnaround in order to
maximise the project economics.
To achieve these objectives, SASREF worked
closely with Shell Global Solutions and
Criterion Catalysts & Technologies (Criterion).
Teamwork was a key factor in the success of this
project; there was high quality interaction
between the three parties that enabled the
project to benefit from the refiners site specific
knowledge and the licensor and catalyst suppli-
ers global operational and technical expertise.
The implementation phase was particularly
successful. It is difficult to overstate the impor-
tance to SASREF of getting it right first time,
safely and on schedule, but the refiner showed
strong leadership during preparation and imple-
mentation was safely completed around eight
days ahead of schedule.
The reactor internals
Over the years, some of the liquid distributors in
SASREFs hydrocracker had been upgraded but
not replaced by latest generation reactor inter-
nals. This unit revamp, therefore, provided a
major opportunity for improvement in this area.
The latest generation reactor internals include:
High dispersion trays, which achieve near-per-
fect wetting of the catalyst right at the top of the
bed, thus enabling an ultra uniform utilisation of
the catalyst and minimising radial temperature
differences
PTQ Q2 2016 1
 Anti-fouling trays designed to the same catalyst was used as in
reduce pressure drop build-up the previous cycle, this could
Quench internals for uniform help to extend the cycle length.
process and quench mixing at Alternatively, a moderate activ-
the interbeds ity catalyst could be used that
Robust catalyst support grid has higher middle distillates
panels selectivity. SASREF selected the
Ultra low bottom baskets second option.
Reactor internal skirts to SASREFs revised unit objec-
accommodate the elevations tives warranted a close look into
that may be required for mini- the possibilities to combine beds
misation of interbed spacing in this way. Extra catalyst
and maximisation of catalyst volume would be required in
bed utilisation and volumes. order to apply more middle
When installing the latest distillate selective, moderate
generation reactor internals, activity catalysts that still could
there are often opportunities to process the future higher feed
capture additional value. For rate for the entire interval
instance, depending on the axial between planned catalyst
temperature gradient, it could change-outs. The latest middle
be possible to combine beds to distillate selective catalysts are a
increase catalyst uptake. And, good fit because they limit the
when the quench internals, extent of secondary cracking to
bottom baskets and filter trays Figure 1 The Shell reactor internals naphtha and lighter products.
are designed to occupy minimal portfolio offers the opportunity to To investigate the thermal
reactor volume, they can enable combine beds because this pro- behaviour of the existing system
more catalyst to be loaded into vides enhanced vapourliquid and and the new options for the
the reactor. This can be used to thermal distribution throughout the revamp, Shell Global Solutions
help extend the catalyst cycle bed and takes up less space than conducted a thermal stability
life, lower the weighted average conventional reactor hardware. This assessment for multiple bed
enables an increase in the volume
bed temperature, increase the of catalyst that can be loaded into combination scenarios. This
throughput or process heavier, the reactor and is complemented took into account the proposed
less expensive feedstock, which by improved catalyst utilisation. At fresh feed intake, which
results in a higher margin. In SASREF, beds were combined in SASREF wanted to increase
some cases, the unit yields can both the cracking reactor (left) and from 7500 to 8000 t/d, the
be redefined for better the pretreatment reactor (right) proposed catalyst system, the
economics. capacity of the existing interbed
In addition, some latest generation reactor quench facilities and the hydrocrackers operat-
internals are designed for fast removal and ing mode. It verified that the rate of occurrence
installation, which can help to increase days on of temperature excursions could be adequately
stream and be worth significant revenue. There minimised and that excursions, should they
are also safety advantages, such as far less happen, would be adequately moderated by the
confined space working time because cutting and available operational handles.
welding are not required, and large manways At SASREF, the two pretreatment reactors had
that enable fast entry and exit. In some cases, no four beds each and the cracking reactors had six
physical entry is required to access the bed. beds each. Ultimately, the thermal stability
assessment led to a recommendation to merge
Increasing catalyst volume by combining beds beds 3 and 4 in the pretreatment reactor and
When replacing conventional reactor internals beds 1 and 2 in the cracking reactors (see Figure
with latest generation hardware, refiners can 1).
typically benefit from an increase in the volume As a result of merging the beds and the hard-
of catalyst that can be loaded into the reactor. If wares slimmer profile, the reactors catalyst

2 PTQ Q2 2016 www.digitalrefining.com/article/1001273

volume increased substantially.
The catalyst load in the pretreat- Conventional tray
ment reactors increased by 16%. 10-15% wetting
In the cracking reactors, there
was a 22% increase compared
with the original loaded catalyst
volume using conventional reac-
tor hardware.
Reducing the number of beds
has a positive impact on three
main parameters:
Less hardware is required,
which reduces capital
Dry catalyst
expenditure
Less turnaround time is
required in every future catalyst Figure 2 Some modern trays optimise catalyst utilisation by achieving
exchange, as there are fewer enhanced vapour-liquid and thermal distribution. These trays can be
manways to open and close extremely efficient; some enable nearly 100% of the catalyst inventory to be
There is easier and faster utilised and offer high feed rate flexibility
catalyst loading due to longer
beds.
Improving catalyst utilisation with high
dispersion trays
In addition to increasing the catalyst volume,
latest generation reactor internals can utilise the
catalyst load better. Whereas conventional
designs typically use about 80% of the catalyst
owing to poor feed distribution, latest generation
reactor internals enable close to 100% utilisation
of the catalyst load by enhancing the uniformity
of the gas-liquid distribution. They also help to
ensure that the guaranteed catalyst cycle length
is met by minimising radial temperature maldis-
tribution and the associated risk of coke
formation.
For example, SASREFs hydrocracker had been
using conventional distribution trays. These are
notorious for low uniformity of vapour-liquid
distribution and undesirable radial temperature
maldistribution. Using the latest generation
trays, the revamp team believed, could help to
increase the middle distillates yield. This is
because they feature customised nozzles that use
the gas flow momentum to disperse the liquid as
a mist. Unlike all existing distributor trays in the
industry, the nozzles uniformly wet the entire
catalyst surface and make very efficient use of
the upper layers of the catalyst bed (see Figure
2).
Enabling more catalyst to be loaded into the
hydrocrackers reactors and using almost 100%
www.digitalrefining.com/article/1001273
Bubble-cap tray Latest generation tray
20-30% wetting Near-perfect wetting
Wet catalyst Inert material
of the catalyst load gives SASREF the opportu-
nity to increase yield and extend the catalyst
cycle life.
The total catalyst utilisation improvement
(catalyst loading plus wetting) was 21% for the
pretreatment reactors and 52% for the cracking
reactors.
Guarding against fouling and catalyst
migration
SASREF reported that, before the revamp, the
unit had been affected by fouling, so the revamp
team reviewed the filter tray configuration.
Fouling in a hydrocracker can be costly. When
contaminants build up on the surface of the
catalyst, a layer of foulant particles can form,
which leads to a sharp increase in the reactors
pressure drop that limits the unit throughput
(feed pump and compressors bottleneck).
Moreover, this can also cause residual build-up
to loosen and flow through the reactor, thereby
decreasing performance further.
The team found that the filter tray configura-
tion and top bed filters were of first generation,
non-standard designs. Extensive welding repairs
were required during shutdowns and, conse-
quently, there was a risk of catalyst migration.
The solution was to replace the existing filter
tray configuration with latest generation filter
elements. These have a reduced slit width to
enable even the smallest catalyst particles to be
used as filter media. An additional benefit is that
PTQ Q2 2016 3
 they have quick to open split keys to reduce
shutdown time.
The wire mesh catalyst support grids panels
were also old. They required significant mainte-
nance and confined space residence time during
turnarounds and the risk of catalyst migration
was increasing. The solution was to replace the
wire mesh panels with latest generation catalyst
support grids.
These feature a grid screen that utilises a
wedge-wire construction to help prevent cata-
lyst fall-through and that resists fouling. Wedge
wire offers key advantages compared with wire
mesh: most notably, that it is not prone to foul-
ing. The V-shape of the wire means that it is
self-cleaning. Moreover, there are no loose
layers of wire mesh, no overlay is required for
the wire-mesh pads and no knitting is required.
Wedge wire also lasts up to five times longer
than wire mesh.
Thermometry upgrade to resolve temperature
instabilities
In 2011, SASREF and Shell had conducted a root
cause analysis into temperature instability issues
that had been affecting the unit. This identified
that the thermometry system was contributing to
these problems because it was unreliable. To
resolve this, the revamp team implemented a
major upgrade: previously, each reactor had
been fitted with two old-fashioned vertical ther-
mobars, enabling six temperature measurements
to be taken at just two radial and two axial loca-
tions in each catalyst bed.
The thermometry upgrade replaced the ther-
mobars with multiple state-of-the-art flexible
thermocouples. These thermocouples enable
both radial and axial coverage that is in line with
the latest design guidelines on tight, hydrocrack-
ing bed temperature control and extensive
temperature monitoring. In addition, the plants
distributed control system and safety instru-
mented system were upgraded to collect and
process the information from these additional
thermocouples. This has provided both site
operations and technologists with more robust
automatic temperature control and with tools to
identify early indications of temperature insta-
bility or maldistribution so that remedial action
can be taken in a timely manner.
By carefully selecting reliable thermocouples
and appropriate voting systems, both the rate of
4 PTQ Q2 2016
trips caused by spurious high temperature meas-
urements (leading to unit emergency shutdowns)
and the reliability of reactor safeguarding against
overheating have been brought in line with the
latest standards.
Reinstalling the liquid recycle
In addition to upgrading the reactor internals,
key process changes were made to the hydroc-
racker. For example, a liquid recycle was
installed. The unit was originally built with a
liquid recycle, but it was removed when the unit
switched to once-through mode. Reverting to
this mode of operation provided an inexpensive
opportunity to increase middle distillates yield.
If, in the future, there was a product demand
shift and SASREF wished to move back to gaso-
line mode, the liquid recycle could simply be
interrupted again.
Customising the catalyst system
Technologists from SASREF, Shell Global
Solutions and Criterion worked together to select
the most appropriate hydrocracking and
pretreatment catalysts to meet the refinerys
individual process needs and to develop the
most effective operating strategy for the unit.
This involved a detailed analysis that took into
account: the feedstock quality; the desired prod-
uct slate; the design of the hydrocracker and its
normal operating regime; the amount of hydro-
gen available; and the target cycle length.
A catalyst study was performed that evaluated
three different catalyst systems proposed by
Criterion alongside five different feed blends (see
Table 1).
These evaluations also took into account the
liquid recycle option as a process parameter to
boost middle distillate yield and to shift the yield
more towards naphtha, when needed, by operat-
ing the hydrocracker in once-through mode only,
thus switching off the liquid recycle.
The focus was to have maximum middle distil-
late yields within the targeted four-year cycle
length, taking into account the maximum draw-
off capacities for kerosene and diesel.
Criterion also advised SASREF to reuse part of
the regenerated catalyst that was available
on-site in order to reduce fill costs.
Following the catalyst selection study, SASREF
opted to fill the pretreatment reactors with Ascent
DN-3551 hydrocracking feed pretreatment cata-
www.digitalrefining.com/article/1001273
lyst and partly regenerated and
fresh Zeolyst Z-503, a cracking
catalyst that has high selectivity
for middle distillates.
The cracking reactors were
filled with regenerated Zeolyst
Z-733, a cracking catalyst
designed to produce middle
distillate range products with
improved properties such as
density, smoke point and cetane
number, and Zeolyst Z-FX10, a
flexible catalyst that can be used
for high yields of middle distil-
lates or naphtha.
Study of three catalyst systems and five feed blends
Cracking catalyst Z-733/Z-FX10 All Z-FX10 Z-FX10/Z-623
Cycle length (months)
Valid feed case
101 78 71 50
102 127 105 93
108 C 80 77 55
105 71 68 48
106 59 57 38
Combined kerosene and diesel yield (t/d)
Valid feed case
101 4145 4305 4446
102 3336 3487 3587
108 C 3778 3945 4057
105 3847 4025 4142
106 4138 4320 4446
Key: Below target; Valid; Invalid

Efficiently executed project Table 1

The hydrocracker is, of course,
the heart of the refinery and drives its profitabil-
ity. The units normal turnaround window was
extended from 18 to 38 days (excluding start-up
and shutdown days) to enable the reactor inter-
nals and catalysts to be installed. SASREF was
determined to ensure that the unit would come
back on stream according to this project time-
line. This was economically imperative; it had to
be right first time, as there would be no second
chance.
However, SASREF, which led the preparation
and execution phases, closely supported by Shell
Global Solutions, faced major challenges. For
example, it had never executed a project of this
type and there were complicating factors such as
the need to cut out beds and the presence of
asbestos in the reactors.
In addition, there were the challenges that are
common to all refineries: installation has to be
completed during a single turnaround window,
during which time there are many contractors
on-site tackling numerous activities in a highly
congested area.
SASREF believes that the way in which it miti-
gated challenges such as these was crucial to the
success of this project. Key elements of its
approach include:
High level sponsorship: senior managers widely
communicated that this was the refinerys high-
est priority project of the year, and everyone
aligned to this common goal.
Adopting successful practices from other sites:
because SASREFs experience with projects of this
type was limited, it actively sought out best prac-
tices and key lessons from other refineries. It
visited other sites and learned from their projects.
High quality people: SASREF formed a multi-
disciplinary team to work on the project from its
most highly qualified and experienced people,
and acknowledges that Shell and Criterion did
the same. SASREF also involved young Saudi
graduates so that they could benefit from knowl-
edge transfer.
Selecting an experienced contractor: Shell
Global Solutions proposed construction contrac-
tors that had experience of similar projects, but
SASREF was keen to evaluate their track records
and technical capabilities. It also paid special
attention to the contractors leadership teams
because it felt this would drive the success of the
project.
Building reactor mock-ups: during the turna-
round window, the reactor internals had to be
assembled inside the four reactors, but by build-
ing reactor mock-ups beforehand the contractors
had the opportunity to practise their assembly
offline. The contractors repeated this assembly
until they were confident that they could install
the new hardware safely and efficiently during
the turnaround window.
Developing a detailed execution plan: this plan
addressed all the activities to be carried out in
all the reactors during the turnaround window
and helped to ensure alignment with other activ-
ities planned in the same area.
Holding a scope optimisation workshop:
through this activity, Shell Global Solutions,
SASREF and the execution contractor challenged

www.digitalrefining.com/article/1001273 PTQ Q2 2016 5

 the scope and proposed duration. This also
helped to ensure that nothing had been missed.
Conducting a readiness assessment review: a
different Shell team took a fresh look to confirm
that the project was ready to be implemented.
Establishing very clear interfaces with the
other activities and contractors that were work-
ing in the same area.
Performing risk assessments for every critical
activity.
Because of this preparation, the team actually
gained on its schedule during the shutdown and
was able to hand over the unit for start-up some
eight days early. Crucially, it did so with an
excellent safety record.
Less shutdown time and enhanced safety
SASREFs future hydrocracker shutdowns will
also be shorter. This is because the latest genera-
tion reactor internals can be serviced much
quicker: they are designed to eliminate the need
for cutting and welding, and to make catalyst
loading and unloading easier and faster, and
there are now fewer interbed manway panels to
open and close. In fact, the new hardware has cut
the time required for shutdowns at SASREF by
some four days, which is worth about $2.56
million per turnaround (assumes $80/t margin).
Moreover, there are safety advantages because
the reactor internals reduce the time required
for confined space entry to at least a quarter of
the time generally taken when compared with
older hardware. This is because they are quicker
to open, clean, inspect and close, and the
confined space entry requirements have been
greatly reduced, especially because some of the
beds have been combined.
In addition, the reactor internals have the larg-
est possible manways to enable people to move
very quickly through the trays and quenches,
which is particularly important in the case of a
serious incident. For example, the larger
manways facilitate faster recovery of an uncon-
scious person from the reactor. Furthermore,
they have been designed to eliminate the need
for hot work in the reactors because they can be
installed without welding and opened and closed
using just a hammer.
Value to SASREF
Calculations show that the new reactor internals
and catalyst system will provide a 4% increase in
6 PTQ Q2 2016
middle distillates, which will increase SASREFs
bottom line by $10.5 million a year (assumes
$14/bbl diesel-naphtha price differential, 7500
t/d intake, 350 operating days a year and 4%
shift from naphtha to diesel).
In addition, adjusting the hydrocrackers mode
of operation by implementing the liquid recycle
adds flexibility as it can enable the product slate
to swing from naphtha to middle distillates with-
out any investment. Moreover, turnarounds will
be shorter and there are safety advantages.
In addition, the catalyst system that Criterion
designed and SASREF validated has a reduced
catalyst refill cost of a further $7 million for this
cycle because it uses partly regenerated catalyst.
Key takeaways
SASREFs revamp, which consisted of upgrading
the reactor internals in all four reactors, modify-
ing the bed configuration in each reactor,
installing new thermometry, innovative catalyst
selection, revising the quench system and
increasing safety, required little capital expendi-
ture but enhanced its profitability by over $10
million a year.
This was a major project whose success hinged
on bold decisions taken by its owner, SASREF,
and the mutual focus and close collaborative
relationship with the other key stakeholders,
Shell Global Solutions and Criterion.
Value can often be lost during the implemen-
tation phase of such a project, so it is vital that
the project team is well prepared. SASREF was
able to avoid unforeseen issues by, for example,
an experienced contractor, setting up an exten-
sive working document and building mock-ups
of the reactors to enable the contractors to prac-
tise installing the internals off the projects
critical path.
Latest generation reactor internals were also
key because they:
Take up less space than conventional hard-
ware, thereby enabling high reactor volume
utilisation for catalyst loading while increasing
catalyst run length
Provide enhanced vapourliquid and thermal
distribution under a wide range of operating
conditions to provide safe and optimised opera-
tion using nearly 100% of the loaded catalyst
Have a boltless, weldless and ergonomic
design that facilitates fast installation, easy
maintenance and a shorter future turnaround.
www.digitalrefining.com/article/1001273
Fawzi Al-Somali, now General Manager, Maintenance, SASREF, Africa and Russia. He has more than 35 years experience in
was responsible for the mechanical delivery of the hydrocracker hydroprocessing catalyst research and development, and is an
turnaround when he was the manager of the refinerys projects expert in plant design and operations.
department. He has 22 years experience at the refinery, and has Email: theo.j.visser@shell.com
also worked as Senior Electrical Engineer and Deputy Manager at
Brunei LNG.
Email: f.al-somali@sasref.com.sa LINKS
Edwin Maas is Global Manager, Hydroprocessing Reactor
Internals, Shell Global Solutions. He has over 36 years experience More articles from: Shell Global Solutions International
in the oil and gas industry, of which 13 have been as a mechanical
engineering subject matter expert.
More articles from the following categories:
Email: edwin.maas@shell.com
Catalysts and Additives
Theo Visser is Senior Technologist Hydrocracking, Criterion
Diesel Maximisation
Catalysts & Technologies, serving Europe, the Middle East,
Hydroprocessing Mass Transfer

www.digitalrefining.com/article/1001273 PTQ Q2 2016 7